Why you should care

Zoey struggles to manage school and a social life. Eric Liebowitz/Freeform

The diverse cast brings varying experiences and opinions to a show with broad appeal for both a teen and young adult audience. While "Grown-ish" is presented as a comedy, it also doesn't shy away from delving into serious issues affecting younger generations, such as access to drugs. It also isn't afraid of being political and exploring student experiences, particularly those of a young woman of color.

As a "Black-ish" spin-off, the show is able to tackle some of what the ABC comedy does, but make it fit a younger audience.

What's hot

This is exactly what studying feels like. Eric Liebowitz/Freeform

Starting with 17-year-old Shahidi, the "Grown-ish" cast is absolutely superb in their portrayal of young teens on their own for the first time. You've got the students who take school more seriously than others, you've got the students who like to party, and you've got student athletes. Each relationship is dynamic. Viewers can see how these students bond and why they are friends.

Each episode also hits a specific college experience — whether it's a social experience or educational one. There's one episode dedicated to Zoey's love life and her obsession with a crush that really took me back to forming a crush on a boy in class and quite literally thinking of him at all times.

While the comedy has its hilarious moments, it also really gets personal with Zoey's struggle for her own identity. She wants to be liked, but in her attempt at brief popularity, she does something she's not proud of. Her realization and later reconciliation show a growth that often occurs during the transition into young adulthood. She also struggles to manage her party persona and studiousness, which again is a very relatable college experience.

What's not

Sometimes you see embarrassing things in college. Freeform

The weakest part of the show is the absurd late night "drone" class they all end up in because they missed registration for other classes. Lumping the students into a class is a great way to have them meet and bond, but it's just plain weird and boring at parts.

The drone class is also a way to have Deon Cole return as his "Black-ish" character Charlie Telphy, who is revealed to be a part-time professor at the university. But again, his part seems random. The show is at its best when it focuses on the students.

There are a few other moments that seem forced and awkward, but the show is just starting out. Everything about it is set up with great promise for the season.

The bottom line

Relationships can be stressful. Freeform

In the first three episodes, "Grown-ish" touches on what it's like to be a Generation Z kid in college, but it's not unique to just them. Trying to balance school and a social life, facing the pressure of drugs, taking a class you really didn't want to take, having a crush, trying to talk to said crush, getting involved with social justice, having your own opinion, discovering your own identity — these are familiar experiences that many college-level students and millennials will understand.

Of course some aspects of the show are over-exaggerated, but overall, "Grown-ish" manages to capture what it's like to head off on your own and transition into adulthood. It's relatable, and when so many shows are excessively over-the-top, this is a breath of fresh air.

Grade: B

"Grown-ish" premieres January 3 at 8 p.m. EST on Freeform.

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